Monday, December 01, 2014

JUSTICE DELAYED IS INJUSTICE

Considering that not
a few knowledgeable people consider that the Philippines has the
distinction of having the slowest Court procedure in the world for
the administration of justice, it is not altogether an exaggeration
to remind those concerned – particularly in the Judicial Branch of
government – that more than maxim commonly invoked that “Justice
delayed is justice denied”,
the truth of the matter is that unreasonable delay in the
administration of justice is nothing less than downright injustice.

How
long
will a victim have to suffer in order to eventually receive what is
his/her due? How long will the culprit enjoy life before the same
gets the punishment he or she deserves? This is not only about the
altogether unpunished murderers in the infamous Mendiola Massacre –
most of the victims were unarmed and helpless farmers. Neither is
this merely about the infamous
Maguindanao Massacre – a good number of those nonchalantly brought
to their death were media persons simply doing their job. Yes, this
is about the heartbreaking sight in a good number of Trial Courts, a
part of which is readily and customarily turned into bodegas of
undecided Civil as well as Criminal Cases. To say that undecided
Cases long since therein piled one after another and gathering more
and more dust in the course of time is certainly not an
overstatement.

So
is it that some questions come to mind: How come so many cases have
to be handled and resolved by so few Trial Courts in the land? Why
not revisit and revise the Procedural Law to shorten trials
without sacrificing truth plus the matter of the appeal – all solid
evidences of the truth notwithstanding? Why is it that litigation
about but really minor matters have to be resolved by Trial Courts
proper? Why not give the relevant Barangay officials the authority
not merely to undertake reconciliation moves but also proceed with
the resolution of many truly minor cases sans appeals – considering
that Filipinos are apparently litigation prone? And so on.

As
of now – and long since even – the Legislative Department has
been spending a lot of time, money and effort at practically
subjecting to Trial these and those
issues with apparently political color instead of honest to goodness
“in aid of legislation”.
For a change, would the Honorable Senators in particular want to
review instead the rules governing the administration of justice in
the Country in order to make it more functional, more reasonable,
more fast and just?

It
can be readily assumed that those duly accused and personally know
their misdeed and accordingly undergoing trial are rejoicing for the
very slow movement of justice – which at times is not even moving
but actually parked somewhere, somehow. It
can even be said that the so-called and often heard “Motion”
is precisely meant to prevent the trial of a Case from moving on. So
is it that individuals accused of having fooled around with public
funds are in fact still being benefited with even more public funds
in their practically unending
trials. This is unconscionable – to say the least!

Oscar Cruz

About The Blogger

Most Reverend Oscar V. Cruz, D.D. is the Archbishop-Emeritus of Lingayen-Dagupan. He is currently the Judicial Vicar of the National Tribunal of Appeals. He is a prolific writer, having published several dozen books mostly on judicial and moral matters. His most recent book is about the Social Doctrines of the Church. He also has a blog where he posts regularly. He is an avid coin collector and dabbles in woodworking art.